Iraqi Christians Arrested in Detroit: What You Should Know

Up to 100 Iraqis, mostly Christians but also some Muslims, were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Detroit on Sunday. They were rounded up outside churches and restaurants. Parents, siblings, and loved ones were separated from their families and now face deportation to Iraq.

Afterward, families were understandably in shock. Here’s what we know about those caught up in the sweep and what led to their arrest...

1. They’re from Iraq, but America has been their home for decades.

Many of those affected by the immigration sweep belong to Iraq’s Chaldean minority—one of the world’s oldest Christian communities. The Christian population in Iraq once numbered well over a million people, but it fell dramatically as many fled due to the U.S. invasion, sectarian war, and the rise of ISIS. Both the Obama and Trump administrations recognize Iraqi Christians as victims of genocide.

But those rounded up in Detroit are not recent arrivals to the U.S. Many came to the States to escape Saddam Hussein’s rule and have lived here for decades—some since they were toddlers.

They didn’t come here illegally, either. According to Nathan Kalasho, who runs a charter school serving many of the families affected by this roundup, “These are people who mainly came on visas or green cards.”

Now they face deportation to a country they barely know—a country where they don’t have any network or community to rely on. “A lot of these people only know Americans,” Kalasho told the Detroit Free Press.

2. Yes, they have a criminal record. No, that’s not the whole story.

ICE defended the immigration sweep, saying the individuals they targeted have criminal records which include, among other things, murder and drug trafficking.

The government has yet to provide further details. But according to Kalasho, “Some of the convictions were petty.”

How petty? According to Fox 2 Detroit, one man’s crime was renting a car and letting someone else drive it. “It’s the first time [this law has] been enforced in almost 50 years,” his lawyer said. Another faces deportation because he was caught with marijuana more than two decades ago.

However, some of the crimes are more serious. Yesterday, Christianity Today shared the story of Nahidh Shaou, who left Iraq when he was five years old and later served in the U.S. military, until he was honorably discharged for PTSD. “Soon after,” the article notes, “at the age of 20, he shot and wounded a police officer during a robbery near Detroit and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.” Shaou recently completed his sentence and faces deportation to a country he can barely remember.

So why are they being rounded up now, years later? The answer lies in the revised travel ban issued by President Trump last March.

3. Despite being stuck in the courts, the travel ban opened the door to their deportation.

When President Trump issued his second executive order on refugees and immigration, it contained a crucial difference from the original: Iraq was no longer on the list of targeted countries.

The change came after careful negotiation between Iraqi and U.S. officials. But there was a catch: in order to get off the banned list, Iraq’s government had to agree to let the U.S. deport Iraqi citizens with criminal records. That agreement stands, even though President Trump’s order is currently tied up in the courts.

As a result, as many as 1,400 Iraqi nationals could be forced to leave the country they call home. Many fear for their lives if they are sent back, believing Iraq is no longer safe for Christians. While Christianity hasn’t disappeared from Iraq—not by any means—Christians who remain face unique hardships. Many were driven from their homes by ISIS. Even in liberated towns like Batnaya, a few minutes north of Mosul, families haven’t been able to return yet. And there is no guarantee that their difficulties will end once ISIS is defeated.

Batnaya, a Christian town near Mosul, destroyed in the fight against ISIS

It’s hard enough for somebody who has a lifetime of experience navigating how to be a Christian in Iraq. But most of those facing deportation have no such experience. They don’t have a support network in Iraq. They don’t have homes or families to return to. They don’t even have IDs. Everything they know is in America.

Both on the campaign trail and since taking office, President Trump has repeatedly promised to protect persecuted Christians of the Middle East. He defended his refugee policy by saying he wanted to prioritize Christians over other vulnerable groups. “Everybody was persecuted,” he said in January. “[ISIS] were chopping off the heads of everybody, but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them."

But for many Iraqi Christians who already found refuge in the U.S., the president's order could have the opposite effect.

Those facing deportation do have criminal records, though some of the crimes were far less serious than others.

Christians are a persecuted minority in Iraq, but they’re not the only group we should care about, and their story is not defined by persecution alone.

The rule of law is important here, but so is mercy.

Immigration and deportation are complex matters. But we must never reduce them to mere “politics” or an “issue.” They are about people—in this case, people who’ve put down deep roots and made new lives for themselves. They’re about families who face being torn apart. And they're about a responsibility we have to stand with vulnerable minorities in and from the Middle East.

Nadia, thank you for sharing more of your brother’s story. I can only imagine how difficult it is. We’re praying for and with your family. We are for you.

Please keep us updated on Nahidh’s situation. I know this is the last thing you want to think about—and we’re hoping and praying for a different outcome—but if he is deported, remember that we have a team in Iraq. If we can help him in any way, we will.

Nadia Shaya commented
2017-06-14 22:41:24 -0500

Hi Susan Haglund! You asked a great question about the US Vet. When he was 17 years old, his father gave his signed permission to serve in the military. His father and mother asked the recruiter at the time "What about his citizenship "? The Army Recruiter assured his parents that would not be a problem and he would get it while he was enlisted. He applied but was then deployed to Korea. While he was in Korea, his father died. He suffered from PTSD, guilt, shame, and many other things too painful to discuss. When he came back to the U.S. his application had lapsed. In the interim, he committed a horrible crime therefore making him in-eligible for U.S. Citizenship. It’s a tragic story. He has paid more than his time for the crime……34 years. Sending him back to Iraq is not a punishment, it’s a death sentence. The punishment has been served. He was a model inmate and received his college degree as well as completing a welding program where he received his certification.

How do I know this you might ask? He’s my beloved brother that I have been praying and fasting for. I’ve waited almost 35 years to bring him home to my mom.
I covet your prayers please.

Hi Susan,
I’d like to preface my response as one that intends to educate and if I’m erring here in my presumption that you are not very familiar with our immigration steps, I apologize. Having just become a permanent resident myself after 15 years of living legally here, there is nothing to say that some of the deported Iraqis weren’t already working on this. The United States has one of the most convoluted immigration systems in the developed world with different rules for a plethora of categories of individuals. Besides that, there could have been changes to immigration policies to specific countries that could impact what is called “change of status” i.e. from refugee to permanent resident to U.S. Citizen. Furthermore, one doesn’t automatically become a citizen either. For example, even though I have legal permanent status in the US, I cannot begin my citizenship application for another 5 years (assuming there aren’t any changes to our immigration laws in the interim). The process of becoming a citizen could take a few weeks to a couple of years, depending on a person’s current legal status.

Of course I am sympathetic to the plight of these people and their possible return to Iraq , which is a dangerous country for anyone, but particularly for Christians. I am also someone who believes in the rule of law. If, we are going to fix the problems in our country law enforcement officers and the law itself needs to be respected and obeyed and applied equally to all without bias to race, creed, or gender. If laws need to be changed, then let’s do it. I have a question. Since many of these folks came legally to this country, and have been here for years, and have had no wish to return “home” , why have they not taken the next logical step and become US citizens? They would not be facing deportation had they done this. The man who served in the US forces was certainly given ample opportunity and encouragement to become a US citizen, long before he committed a crime. I don’t wish to be harsh, but some of our immigrant and refugee communities who have desired to come to the US, and have taken advantage of what this country has to offer, and contributed to our society, need to be willing to take the next step of loyalty and citizenship to the USA. Why are so many unwilling to do this? That should be the natural outcome of those who choose to come and live permanently in the US.

Hi Gwen! According to the White House website, a petition has to get 100,000 signatures within 30 days to get an official response. That threshold set by the Obama administration in 2013.

Rosemary Smith Segroves commented
2017-06-14 05:06:36 -0500

These articles and comments are as bias ,as most main stream news . We can’t have it both ways. Holding to the law or breaking it . "Perhaps Mr. Trump( it is President Trump ) should forego golf outing ". President Trump is working on it. Dearborn Mi. Is a hot bed. It will take time . Chistians need to prayand trust more ,and worry less.

Thank you to whomever started circulating that petition: I’ve signed and shared the link to my facebook readers. But why 100,000 signatures by July 12? That seems like a daunting number for the purpose of ? maybe discouraging any of us from signing, sharing, caring! Is that a typical quota before a petition to the administration requires before anyone there will make it known to “head” of immigration??

Judy Rabinovitz, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said the removal orders, while legal, could be decades old and don’t reflect changing conditions in the countries of origin. She said similar removals have been carried out for Somalia and Cambodia natives.

“Anyone with a final order is basically vulnerable at this point,” she said. “The problem is, these aren’t cases where these are people who pose a risk to public safety — it’s just sort of irrational, low-hanging fruit. Get the numbers, get people out.”

So basically, if this is correct, our government is rounding up people who have been here a long time for old violations (most of which were extremely minor or in many cases, where the accused had already been judged and completed sentencing). This was done to make a big splash with the fear mongers who want to support Trump’s agenda of spreading fear throughout our nation in order to lay an emotional blanket of dependency on him.

According to the article, the judge(s) claim that all due process was conducted and everyone had a fair hearing. I can’t even begin to swallow such a story. When the end goal is to hold up large numbers of deportations to make the administration look good, it isn’t possible to at the same time claim that everyone received due process.

Those who promote these kinds of scare tactics would do well to visit the Museum of Tolerance in LA or the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and see where this led in the past. It did not end well, in case anyone has forgotten. Perhaps Mr. Trump could forego a golf outing to take a pass through and refresh his memory.

Chad R. Allen commented
2017-06-13 19:35:46 -0500

Thanks, Ben, for this important story. Two questions: Do you know if this story is receiving any mainstream coverage? If I wanted to speak out against the deportation, where is my voice most likely to have some kind of effect?